There are various instances in which it is desirable to be able to track the travel of an automobile. For instance, an insurance provider may want to aggregate automobile travel data across its client base to identify risk trends and/or to set individual policy rates. Additionally, parents may want to track the automobile travel of their children.
There are various known systems for tracking the travel of automobiles, many of which are integrated into automobiles at the time of manufacture or hardwired into the automobiles as aftermarket add-ons. For example, automobiles can be equipped with on-board GPS systems to collect travel data. Automobiles can also be equipped with on-board transmission systems to distribute the travel data to other entities (e.g., insurance companies, location tracking servers, parents, etc.). Although these on-board systems work well, they add cost and complexity to the automobiles.
A smartphone has the ability to collect and distribute travel data, including travel data that is collected by the smartphone while the user of the smartphone is traveling in an automobile. Typically, the collection and distribution of travel data is controlled by a software application, referred to as a “mobile application,” an “application,” or simply as an “app,” which is downloaded to and actively running on the smartphone. Using such an app, travel data can be collected and distributed as long as the app is running on the smartphone. The functions of data collection and distribution require operations that consume battery power. However, battery power in a smartphone is a limited and valuable resource that should be conserved as much as possible. Therefore, if a smartphone is used to collect and distribute travel data, then it is desirable to have the data collection and distribution functions operate only when the user (and the user's smartphone) is traveling in an automobile. However, it is inconvenient and cumbersome to require the user to launch a data collection and distribution application in the smartphone each time the user enters an automobile.